Escape from Blood Prison
by Mistress Of The Macabre
Summary: In a world where chakra wielders are hunted and feared, Hozuki Castle houses them all. At blood prison, all ninja are equally worthless. There can be no honour here. At blood prison, your screams are music to their ears. When Naruto Uzumaki finds himself at Hozuki Castle, how will he survive? CAN he survive? Is escape a fantasy? AU. M for good reason.
1. Welcome to Hell, boys!

**Chapter One: Welcome to Hell, boys! **

The prison bus, old, rickety thing that it was, passed through the gate and headed towards the building surrounded by the razor-wire fence. He'd heard the terrified whispers on the bus- people suspected that it was electrified. He could not tell by simply looking at it. He hoped not.

The tall, black building loomed ominously over them as the bus approached. It was a place of punishment, of confinement- supposedly to keep criminals like him locked away from society, so that the world could rest easier. It was ugly, gloomy, and oddly imposing- and it was to be his home for the rest of his life. The jury of blood prison didn't believe in anything other than life sentences for anyone who had an aptitude for chakra. Like most others on the bus, Naruto Uzumaki had pleaded his innocence- truth be told, he still didn't believe that he had actually done anything wrong. If anything, he'd been trying to protect society, not endanger it.

Not that the jury would have any of it.

"_You bastards! Let me go!" _

The bus slowly approached Hozuki Castle, and Naruto heard the hushed whispers of his fellow inmates, as they drank in the sight of the prison with wide eyes. The driveway to the prison was long, almost absurdly so. Walls of razor wire lined the sides, and towered into the sky, scratching the cerulean beauty with claws of steel. The blonde boy peered out the window, eyes defiant. "My God," the scrawny man in front of him said, "they're lined with towers."

And so they were. Every ten feet or so stood a disgusting, twisting mini fortress, and at the top of each tower, there were several armed guards, clad in a sickly green. They smirked as the bus trundled by, and Naruto heard the sounds of someone about to be violently ill.

Hozuki castle itself was made of stone, and lay on the edge of a cliff. Stone walls encircled the castle itself, as well as the many smaller buildings there were scattered along the grounds. A long and exhaustive set of stairs led upwards into the bowels of the castle, and what lay beyond was anyone's guess.

The bus shuddered to a stop in front of the stairs, where several guards were waiting, firearms at the ready should any of them step out of line. Naruto gritted his teeth, as they all stood and shuffled awkwardly to the front of the bus, and descended just as uncertainly. All of the people on the bus were ninja, just like him, and they weren't used to being shackled. Their ankles were chained together, so that they were forced to proceed in a slow, awkward gait, as if they were only just learning to walk. Their wrists were cuffed together, so that they couldn't make any hand signs and produce chakra, which was what they were in trouble for in the first place. The result was a sad, sorry line of around nine ninja shuffling obediently after one another, staring at their feet because the sight before them was too frightening.

Naruto glared at the back of the head of the man in front of him, his eyes angry. Rather than cowed by the prison looming over him, he felt nothing but anger. Anger that he was even here to begin with, anger at the jury who had condemned him without a second thought, but perhaps more importantly, anger at himself for letting himself be caught in the first place.

They all stopped suddenly. Naruto could see a guard addressing the head of the group, a young man with short brown hair and dark glasses. He seemed somewhat familiar to the blonde boy.

"You follow me, you got that?" the guard shouted. Glasses-boy nodded silently. "If I hear so much as a squeak out of you maggots, there'll be hell to pay!"

Glasses-boy nodded again, and they began shuffling again, their chains clanking and gleaming cheekily in the sunlight. Up the steps they went, in that same awkward fashion, and there were guards both in front and behind them. Naruto, towards the back, could feel eyes boring into the back of his head. He turned to snap at whoever was staring, but a violent tug from those ahead of him made him think better of it. As they reached the top of the stairs (the boy behind him was panting profusely- how someone so unfit became a ninja, Naruto would never know-), the massive, polished oak doors opened, and, with a jerk of their chains, the shamed ninja went inside.

It was dark. Naruto could see little at first, but, as his eyes began to adjust, he saw that they were walking along a single strip of stone- the walls, if you could call them that, were hundreds upon hundreds of cells, most of which were filled. Stairwells twisted upwards, where yet more cells waited. There were more guards here, and they watched the procession of new additions impassively, as though they'd seen it a hundred times before. Probably they had.

Those weren't the only eyes that were watching them, though. Curious, malicious, and even bloodthirsty eyes stared out from the darkness of the cells, and as they walked, some of them spoke.

"Fish! New fish!" someone squealed.

"We're reeling them in," someone else noted, somewhat sadly.

"What a sorry bunch," was another remark.

"Aren't they cute?" another cooed, which was perhaps scariest of all, "Oh, these fish are just so _cute." _

"This way," their leading guard said, sounding bored, taking them through the halls of cells, and out into what appeared to be a courtyard. The sun twinkled in the sky, as though it was laughing at them. Before them stood more guards, as well as an old man wearing what appeared to be brown robes with a shawl. Half of his face appeared to be heavily bandaged, and his arm was in a sling. Dislike rose up in Naruto like a snake; he knew that this man meant trouble, whoever he was.

The bored guard stopped them, and told them to face their left. They did so, chains clanking loudly. Naruto found himself staring directly at the old man, and he quickly dropped his eyes, not wanting to look at the old man longer than he needed to.

The man to the right of the old geezer stepped forward. Aside from the old man himself, he was the only one not clad in the green of the guards- he chose to wear simple black clothing. His face was heavily scarred and twisted on one side, and his hair was close-cropped and dark. He glared at them, eyes smoldering dangerously. "Face the warden!" he snapped, "eyes forward!"

"Thank you, Obito," the warden rasped, "I'll take it from here."

"Yes, sir," the scarred man said politely, and when the warden's back was turned, his cowed smile turned into a terrible smirk. He stepped back, and his hand drifted to his waist- he was armed, too.

"So," the warden said, addressing them all directly. He had a presence about him, which was for sure- he radiated authority. "The fact that you're here is proof enough that you've all committed a terrible crime- the crime of chakra wielding. You've completely lost the trust of your respective villages, and for that, there is a price to pay."

"My name is Danzo Shimura," he continued, "and I believe in two things here at Hozuki prison- discipline, and repentance. Here you will receive both. You've already met Officer Obito," he nodded toward the sneering scarred man, who was fingering his gun lovingly, "and he is one of the many guards who will watch over you during your stay. Now, I want you to understand that you are all worthless. And dispensable," he added, letting a wry smile cross his face, and the effect was truly terrifying, "don't forget that. While you're here, your ass is mine. Any questions?"

"Yeah, when do we eat?" the fat boy next to Naruto asked. His hair was long and messy, and there were swirls inked into his cheeks.

The silence was deafening. The air could have been cut with a knife.

Danzo met Obito's eyes briefly, and inclined his head slightly. The scarred man grinned nastily, and jammed the butt of his gun deep into the fat boy's gut. "Oof!" he groaned, face twisted in agony. Obito jabbed at him again, this time hitting his chest- the sound of the metal hitting flesh made all the ninja wince.

Obito withdrew the gun, and leaned in to the groaning boy. "You eat when we say you eat, fat ass!" he roared. "You jump when we say you jump, and you shit when we say you shit!"

"Choji Akimichi," Danzo said, smiling in a grandfatherly way, "I should have known. Captured for using the expansion jutsu in public to allow for more food." He shook his head, still smiling, as though he couldn't believe someone could be so stupid. He moved down the line, stopping at Naruto. "And you're the Uzumaki boy. Captured for trying to kill one of our officers with a well-timed rasengan. My, my-"

"I was framed!" Naruto shouted desperately into Danzo's face, horribly aware that Obito was looming behind the warden, longing to beat him into submission, eyes glittering malevolently. "I don't belong here!"

Danzo cocked his head, amused. "Framed, you say?" he said, and laughed gently. Obito and the other guards snickered. Naruto ignored them.

"Yes!" he yelled furiously, even managing to stamp his foot, "I don't have time for this! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Ah, you see, _that _is where I disagree with you, Naruto," Danzo said, his wrinkled lips curled into a bemused grin, "You _have _done something wrong- something terribly, terribly wrong."

"I was defending myself!" Naruto bellowed. Choji, the one who had been hit in the stomach, nudged him worriedly and told him to shut up, but Naruto ignored him. "You bastards! How can you-"

He was suddenly silenced by a blow to his gut. While he'd been shouting, Obito had crept closer and jammed the butt of his gun into the boy's stomach. "Shut up," Obito said, sounding bored, and hit him again for good measure. Naruto couldn't breathe. He sank to his knees, gasping, tightness in his chest, blue lights winking in front of his eyes.

"On your feet," he heard Obito snarl, and, grimacing, he stood up, swaying slightly. Obito had absolutely winded him, and it hurt like a sonofabitch. Naruto considered letting the warden what exactly his deranged guard had done, and thought better of it. Danzo had seen- had probably even ordered it.

The blonde boy looked up, to see Obito's eyes boring into his own. They were dark tunnels that seemed to go on forever, menacing, full of hatred. "Got anything else to say?" the man asked softly, "because I would just _love _to sink this into your gut again."

Naruto shook his head frantically, furiously, the pain in his chest not quite gone. Furious but cowed for the moment, he averted his eyes, and stared at his chained ankles, until Danzo commanded their absolute attention.

"I have just one more thing to say to you boys," he said, still smiling in that grandfatherly way, "and that's welcome to Hell."

**XxX**

Obito took charge of them next, accompanied by six or seven more guards- not that the malicious scarred man needed them- they were all terrified by his mere presence. "This way, ladies," he sang, leading them not through the cells as they had expected, but down another hallway, deeper into the castle. Here the walls and floor were of stone. Passing through them, it was more depressing than seeing the future cellmates cooing and hissing at you through the bars, because there was- well, NOTHING. It was empty, drab- devoid of any colour at all. There weren't even any decorations of any sort.

"A guy could go crazy wandering around in this place," the scrawny boy in front of Naruto remarked quietly. He was of an unruly sort, with a mop of brown hair and curious shapes tattooed onto his cheeks; unlike Choji's, these were burgundy, and appeared to be upside-down triangles. His name was Kiba Inuzuka. The story went that he had had a gigantic dog with him, but it had fled once Kiba had been attacked.

Obito chuckled at the head of their line, and the guards sniggered along with him. They kept walking, until at last they stopped. The door was shut, and on it was a small silver plaque that simply read, 'infirmary'. It was clear from the rummaging and hushed whispers that there was someone inside. Obito rapped smartly on the door twice, and ordered them in, holding his gun menacingly, leering at them, his scars made more obvious and terrible in the half-light. They wasted no time in making their way into the infirmary.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the nurse said, turning away from her current patient, a youth that was mumbling to themselves, arms laced with bandages, and she smiled at them. She was pretty enough, Naruto thought, with chocolate-brown hair cut into a neat bob, warm brown eyes, plump lips, and a heart-shaped face. Purple stripes adorned her cheeks. "New inmates, Obito?"

"Yeah," Obito rasped, and gave her a devilish grin. It did not escape any of them that his eyes flickered briefly to her chest, and back to her face again. "They're here to be immunized."

"I see." The nurse moved away from Obito, and began rummaging around in a leather backpack. "Line them up for me, please."

"You heard the nurse," Obito barked, "into line!"

They did so silently, awkwardly, most of them unable to keep their eyes off the pretty nurse, who wore a tired smile. She raised her now gloved hands, and showed them the entire gigantic syringe, which was full of a suspicious-looking liquid.

"What's that?" Choji asked.

"It's a relaxing agent," she replied, "to make your first few days at Hozuki smoother."

From the way Obito was leering at them, Naruto figured she was lying, and was amazed that she expected them to believe her. Yet each of the ninja held their arms out willingly, and sighed contentedly as she administered the drug. It was as though they…wanted to believe that it was true. To them it WAS true.

"What is that, really?!" he demanded when it was his turn. Obito glowered at him, but said nothing for the moment. She sighed.

"Please stay still. You don't want me to break the needle off in your arm, do you?"

"No, but I want to know what the hell you're putting in my arm first," Naruto growled.

"It's a drug preventing the-" she began to say, but Obito cut her off sharply.

"Nurse Nohara! What did Danzo say? No telling the prisoners what's in there," he hissed, and the nurse blanched.

"Of course," she whispered, "I forgot my place."

Naruto stood his ground, and glared. "I don't need any stupid drug to keep me under control," he shouted, "I'm not crazy, and you can't MAKE me take anything I don't want to! I know my rights, damn it!"

Both Obito and Nurse Nohara stared at him, her expression one of sadness, his of amusement. Naruto had a feeling most of the other ninja were staring at him too. He didn't care. He wouldn't be injected with anything! He gritted his teeth, eyes bright and fiery. Inside of him, he could feel the Nine-tails growling in disgust, yearning to burst forth and rip them all open. Naruto could not quite describe the sensation. It was like he had a ball of fire inside his chest, one that writhed and burned and yowled for conflict, to draw blood. It flickered and surged deep inside him, and he could literally feel his innards burning inside him.

It was his darker half, and he wasn't about to let it out.

Obito began laughing. "Your rights," he gasped, chest heaving frantically, "your _rights. _You make me laugh, boy!"

"What's so damn funny?!" Naruto yelled furiously, stamping his foot in anger. His chains rattled noisily. Obito stopped laughing. His features became ugly once more, his scars appearing white in the half-light, in stark contrast to a face that had been burnt by the sun.

"In here you have no rights," he said simply, and punched him in the stomach for good measure. All the air went out of Naruto's lungs. He doubled over, gasping. White-blue stars appeared in front of his eyes.

He felt something cool and metallic brush against his neck, and he tried jerking away, but Obito held him tight, callused hands biting deep into the boy's arms until he had no choice but to let Nurse Nohara prick him. Because he was focused on it, Naruto rather thought he could feel the point of the needle slice into his flesh, like melted cheese, and regurgitate its' toxic innards into his bloodstream. It was probably just his thoughts running away with him in his panic, but he thought he could FEEL the liquid oozing into his blood- staining what was natural and good with its' poison. He imagined it as some sort of dangerous drug, seeping through his veins and leaving them frozen, useless. He shivered, as that ball of fire inside him suddenly flickered and died.

"There," nurse Nohara said approvingly, "that should do it."

There were no words to describe how Naruto felt. He felt vulnerable, weak; it was as though he'd been violated in some terrible, unspoken way. He couldn't lay a finger on it just yet, though. What had happened?

"Wh-what happened?" he murmured. All he received in return was a nasty grin from Obito.

Then he suddenly realised what had happened.

He tried to draw chakra from the Nine-tails, to summon that ball of fire. Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing. "Wh-what the hell!" he bellowed, trying once more in vain to draw energy from his fireball, but it remained frozen and unresponsive.

He could do nothing but stare, eyes wide, at his trembling hands. They'd cut off his chakra supply. They'd practically castrated him. "Y-you're an evil bastard," he muttered to Obito, who smirked at him, "you're evil and I'll get you for this…"

"Sure," the scarred guard yawned, rolling his eyes. He turned to the nurse. "I won't always be here to handle pieces of shit like this," he nodded towards Naruto, who kept staring at his hands, bewildered, "you better be prepared next time."

She nodded, choosing to ignore his mild threat, and disappeared, apparently off to collect some uniforms. Obito watched her go, his expression tender. When she was gone, his face turned hard once more. "All right," he barked, "while Nurse Nohara is busy collecting your uniforms, I want you all to jump on the spot." When none of them moved, he pointed his gun at them. "What are you shitheads waiting for, a bloody invitation? _FUCKING MOVE!" _he roared, and they all jumped.

**XxX**

"What was all that about?" Naruto muttered. Obito snickered.

"It's to detect whether any of you were stupid enough to smuggle weapons in," he said tartly, and visibly brightened when Nurse Nohara returned. In her arms was a pile of grey clothes.

"Here are your uniforms," she said, eyes kind, "put them on, please."

**XxX**

Once they were dressed (the uniform had consisted of grey pants, a white undershirt, and a grey jacket emblazoned with their prisoner number), Obito marched them from the infirmary and to their respective cells. They were still chained together in a line, but if anyone felt even a fraction as bad as how Naruto felt at that moment, they wouldn't be able to muster the energy to run away or fight.

Which absolutely had been their intention.

As they reached the cells, they were greeted by catcalls. Prisoners shook the bars fiercely, eyes alight with malice as they called to the newcomers.

"They're back!" someone cheered.

"Sorriest lot I've seen yet!" someone else snorted. Choji whimpered.

"Here, fish, fish, fish…" another voice whispered, nearly overwhelmed by the din, but for those who heard it, it made their blood run cold.

Obito would stop the line, unshackle a prisoner, and shove them inside, regardless of whether the cell was occupied or not. By the way things were going, it looked like they were all going to have a cellmate. As they shuffled past the cells, Naruto noticed that several prisoners had curiously-coloured bands on their arms- the man in the cell Choji was going into had a bright yellow band on his arm. As the snuffling Choji entered, his eyes gleamed mischieviously.

"Keep moving, princess!" the guard snapped, tugging on Naruto's chain, and the blonde boy kept going, oblivious of the fact that he was now the only one left.

"Give him here, Obito," someone rasped. Obito glared at them.

"Not on your life, asswipe," he snarled. Onward they marched, until, three floors later, they finally stopped. Obito gestured towards one of the other guards. "Open this cell. Hey, Hatake," he called into the cell, "you've finally got some company!"

"Oh, _goody," _came the reply.

Naruto hardly felt it when the chains came off, and Obito shoved him hard between the shoulder blades, and he stumbled into the cell. "You'll pay for this," he snarled to the scarred man, "you'll pay, Obito!"

He just laughed, as he shut the door in Naruto's face.

"Ah…" the man in the cell sighed. Naruto turned and saw that he was lounging on the bed, watching him curiously. He was dressed in the grey and white of the prison, and was probably only thirty years old at best, but his spiked silver hair made him look much older. Though his lower face was covered with what appeared to be a bandana, the weary- almost tired- look in his eyes also gave the impression of someone old beyond their years. He had a scar running over his right eye. He didn't look particularly dangerous. All he looked was lethargic.

Now he looked at Naruto, and yawned. "Hi."

"Hi," Naruto mumbled, unnerved by the bandana. He stared at his surroundings- concrete cells, two cots, and a toilet- and then turned back to his cellmate. "Who're you?!"

"Names' Kakashi, Kakashi Hatake," he said. His eyes now appeared alert. "And who am I sharing my beloved cell and cot with, may I ask?" His voice was oozing with sarcasm, but Naruto ignored it, either because he didn't care or because he didn't get it.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he shouted, "and I'm gonna kill that sonofabitch Obito!"

"Ah…and I have to put up with you for the rest of my life…?"

"What?!"

"Never mind. Look, kid, you're gonna get yourself killed," Kakashi told him lazily, repositioning himself on the cot so he was more comfortable. He said it quite matter-of-factly, as though declaring someone's death was something he did frequently- who knew, maybe it was.

Naruto turned to him, eyes blazing. "What the hell are you on about?!"

Kakashi sighed, exasperated. "You don't know how prison works, do you?"

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have asked, asshole," Naruto growled. Kakashi laughed, a little sadly.

"It's that attitude that's going to kill you. You won't last a week." Taking Naruto's questioning look in his stride, Kakashi continued; "Look, kid, you can't just prance in here and yell about justice and killing people. If the guards don't get you…somebody else will. I've seen people like you come and go plenty of times. Most times they quieten down and learn their place…but, sometimes they don't."

"HUH?!"

"I'm not finished. If the guards don't get you for spouting that rubbish, the Akatsuki will. And believe me when I say this, if they get you, you'll wish you were dead."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto was puzzled. Did this mean he had more to worry about, other than wearing a stupid uniform and sharing his cell with THIS loser? "What did this- this Akatsuki- do?"

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment. "Huh…well…I think the last person who annoyed them was sent interstate for having…a broken jaw, and…a crushed diaphragm, maybe? He was as loud and annoying as you, and he annoyed the wrong person…he did it with his bare hands. I think he spent a week in the hole for that little stunt. They're scared of him, see."

Naruto sat on the other cot rather suddenly. His mouth felt very dry. "What kind of place IS this?!" he spluttered. He imagined Kakashi smiled at him sadly; he couldn't tell, not with the bandana in the way.

"This," he said, "is prison. Welcome to Hell, kid."


	2. First Taste

**Chapter Two: First Taste**

"Hey, kid. Wake up."

Naruto opened his eyes blearily, and yawned. He'd never technically been 'asleep'- how the hell he was expected to sleep with all the whispering and laughter, he'd never know. It had started when he and Choji and Kiba and the others had first set foot in this place, and it hadn't stopped since. It had lessened somewhat when captain Obito and his cronies had passed by and called for lights out, but it had resumed once they were out of sight. There were whispers; hard to make out individual statements, but together, it was a large drone that irritated Naruto to no end. There were whispered threats, which were frightening but expected, and then there were the falsely sweet, sing-songs that were somehow more frightening than the threats. Somebody started crying.

Then the laughter began, and whatever small hope Naruto had had of sleeping vanished.

Combine that with his shitty lumpy mattress and pillow, and Naruto had spent the night with his pillow over his face and his fingers in his ears.

Now he sat up, still clutching the pillow to his chest. It was obvious he was exhausted. He was paler than usual, and bags hung under his eyes. He didn't have the same spunk that he'd displayed yesterday, and for once, didn't openly declare his wish to murder Obito.

Kakashi eyed him with amusement. "Rough night, eh?"

Naruto glared at the older man. "Just a bit," he said icily. He got up and stretched, his back cracking audibly as he did so. Somehow he'd ended up curled into a ball, and now his body hurt like hell. "Hey, when's breakfast? I'm starving!"

"Whenever they decide to give it to us," Kakashi said simply. Compared to Naruto, even he appeared well-rested. "You don't get to pick when you eat, you know."

"I hate this," Naruto grumbled, picking at his sleeve with perhaps more force than necessary, "I hate this whole being locked up thing so much."

"Gee, if I didn't know any better, I'd say we were in a prison," the older man said dryly.

Just then, the guards began bellowing for them to get back while they opened their doors. "You got your wish, kid," Kakashi said, taking the obligatory step backward while a stern-looking guard fumbled with the keys and started unlocking their door, "its chow time."

**XxX**

All the inmates were being filed into a single line in the mess hall, guards watching their every move. As the line got closer to the actual food servers, it was split into two lines, because of the huge number of inmates. Because they had been on the second floor, Kakashi and Naruto were towards the back of the line, Kakashi pairing up with a ninja Naruto had seen once before. He was tall, deeply tanned, with brown hair tied in a ponytail and a prominent scar across his nose. Looking at him, he didn't appear to be a criminal- he exuded an air of warmth, and upon meeting Naruto, his brown eyes were kind.

"New fish. Hi."

"Hi," Naruto said absently, gazing up at the line. They still had a ways to go before they were served, and by the looks of it, several tall guys up in front were haggling with the servers. Naruto couldn't see much of them, except one of them had blue skin. "How long is it gonna be?"

"Oh, I'd give it half an hour at this rate," Iruka said amiably, actually sounding HAPPY about this, "that's actually pretty good time, especially with the-"

"Iruka," Kakashi butted in, "enough." The older men shared a knowing look, which Naruto missed. He was still stuck on the fact that it'd be half an hour before he got anything to eat. This place sucked majorly.

"Sulking isn't going to make the line move any faster," Kakashi said, sounding amused as Naruto studied his feet intently. He hated wearing this grey crap. He wanted his trademark orange jumpsuit back. Aside from his jumpsuit, his headband had also been confiscated, along with all of his ninja weapons. Naruto wasn't a ninja any longer- amongst all these people in the same drab, boring clothes, he was just another face in a sea of strangers.

Hearing Kakashi's words, the blonde boy opened his mouth to unleash a number of witty retorts, but, incredibly, the line actually began to move. The group of men at the head of the line had moved on, apparently satisfied with their helpings. The blue-skinned guy was amongst them.

"Maybe it'll be less than half an hour after all," Iruka said happily, Naruto nodding agreement. He was starving! He hadn't eaten in…well, a day. Basically nothing for your average ninja, but well, Naruto LIVED to eat. For him not to eat in a whole day, that was scary.

The boy's blue eyes lit upon a familiar face. "Hey, it's Choji!" Indeed it was the stocky boy, a few people ahead of them in the line. He looked at no-one, choosing instead to stare at his feet. He was sweating profusely. If he heard Naruto call his name, he gave no sign that he did.

Iruka sought him out, and smiled fondly. Like Naruto, Choji had met Iruka before. "He's a good kid," he murmured, and Kakashi snorted.

"A good corpse, you mean."

Naruto stared at the silver-haired man in astonishment. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" he demanded, not caring who heard him. One of the big guys at one of the tables stared at him, expression perfectly smooth, before rejoining his comrades in a discussion.

Kakashi sighed in exasperation. "That Akimichi kid, he's a dead man walking. Not just anybody gets thrown in with Hidan…"

Iruka groaned. "I didn't know that. Is he seriously in there?" When Kakashi nodded, Iruka shook his head sadly. "That's too bad…he's such a good kid."

"Corpse," Kakashi corrected him, ignoring Naruto, who was quickly growing red in the face, eyes blazing.

"Corpse," Iruka sighed.

Naruto couldn't stand it any longer. "Will one of you jokers tell me what's going on?! What's wrong with him?!"

"Nothing's wrong with him," Kakashi said softly, almost sadly, "he's just dead, that's all."

And he wouldn't elaborate any more on the topic. The three ninja moved up the line, and as they did so, Naruto caught sight of what was unmistakeably…well, a girl. She was tall and slim, with soft pink hair that rested just above her shoulder blades. He couldn't see her face, since she was ahead in the line, but it was obvious she was female- no man could be that delicate, that feminine. "What the- there are _girls _in here!"

"Of course," Kakashi said, a bit irritated now, "this is blood prison, Naruto. Did you really think there were just male ninjas in the world?"

"I know there's girl ninjas as well," Naruto snapped, "but I didn't think they'd…you know…put girls in with the boys. Wouldn't there be…?"

"Rape? No. The women are only mixed with the men at mealtimes. We're kept separated, so rape _doesn't _happen."

"But-"

"Think about it, Naruto," Iruka said, voice a million times kinder than Kakashi's, "they hate us. They hate the fact that we can produce chakra when they can't. They keep the men and women separated so there is no rape, so we can't…"

"Ah, I get it!" Naruto's face had been furrowed in concentration. The two men could practically see the cogs working in what little brain there was. "They don't want the girls to have babies," he said, almost proudly. Iruka smiled and nodded, infinitely patient, but Kakashi merely stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Wow…" he muttered, turning away from them for the moment. They'd moved even closer to the servers now, and the pink-haired girl was gone. He couldn't believe that Obito had shoved this moron in with him…that man had a sick sense of humour.

Today's breakfast was some sort of grainy porridge, a cup of milk and a hunk of dried bread. Kakashi and Iruka took their servings with thanks, but when it was Naruto's turn, he stared at the food in amazement. "What the hell is this crap?!" he exclaimed, "Where's the ramen?"

The server, a burly, stocky old man, glared at him, saying nothing. Kakashi ignored the situation and plonked himself down at the nearest table, evidently choosing to take no part in Naruto's antics. Iruka, however, was of a nicer sort. He pulled Naruto away, hissing in his ear, "Just take it and go, Naruto!"

Naruto did so, albeit reluctantly. Iruka sat down next to Kakashi, and, with nowhere else to go, Naruto sat down as well. "This is actually pretty good stuff," Iruka said, trying to break the tension.

"Mm," came Kakashi's reply. Naruto was still staring at his meal in disgust.

"Do I really have to eat this?"

"No, you can throw it away and starve if you really want to." Kakashi's good humour seemed to have returned with a few mouthfuls of porridge. "It really doesn't bother me either way."

Scowling, Naruto drank his milk, ate half of the bread, and poked his porridge cautiously. As he was about to take his first mouthful, he saw something squirming in it. "What the hell!" he shouted, actually jumping up in alarm.

"What now?" Kakashi muttered.

"There's- there's a maggot in my food!"

"You lucky bastard," someone growled from the next table. Iruka tugged him down gently.

"Naruto, sit down. You're causing a scene, and in here, that's definitely NOT what you want." Sure enough, as the boy sat back down, his face now tinged with green, he felt eyes boring into him. Normally, he'd turn and snap at whoever was doing it, but these eyes weren't curious- they felt…almost predatory. It wasn't a good feeling, and Naruto finally shut up and ate his food, picking out the maggots as he went. Iruka took them from him and put them in his own porridge. Naruto felt the room sway, and swallowed the vomit that rose in him like a great snake.

"So, what actually happens here?" he asked the two men. They were hardly alone at their table- four other men sat with them- but they, for their part, ignored them, and Kakashi and Iruka were only too happy to return the favour.

Kakashi looked at him thoughtfully. "Sometimes they make us work," he said, "but not often. They don't want us keeping our strength up, see. So mostly they let us outside- by 'outside', I mean out in the fenced area- and we entertain ourselves. Sometimes they let us in the recreation room, but not often enough, for my liking. I miss reading…"

"So we don't even do anything interesting in this hellhole?" Naruto was incredulous. He'd heard that blood prison was bad, but seriously…this was worse than anything he'd imagined. He thought that they'd at least be put to work, which was bad enough, but it would have least provided some menial thoughtlessness that came with simple tasks, and he could have forgotten he was here in the first place, but now…doing absolutely nothing, Naruto knew he'd be left with his own thoughts. And, Kurama or no Kurama, that was a dangerous place to be.

"It's not all bad," Iruka said, trying to sound optimistic, but his voice was _too _cheerful, slightly strained, and it was obvious to them all that Naruto wasn't buying it one bit, and the scarred man dropped the act, "well, yeah. It's pretty bad. But you get used to it."

"Like hell I will," Naruto muttered, giving up on his porridge completely.

"You will," Kakashi said sternly, "or you won't survive here very long."

Naruto blinked.

**XxX**

After breakfast, they were once again herded into a line and told to follow captain Obito. So that was exactly what they did- if they tried to do anything different, there were numerous guards lining both sides of the line, and they'd beat up any offenders quite happily. So it was with some resentment that Naruto, along with the hundreds of other prisoners at blood prison, made their way outside to the 'recreation area'.

'Big fenced in area of absolutely nothing' might have been a better way to describe, for when they actually got outside, there was nothing. Naruto wasn't exaggerating, either. There was the traditional razor-wire fence, but inside that fence…was something like a field. There was no better way of describing it. Except the grass here was yellow and dead, and it crunched noisily under their sandals as they shuffled out into the open. There were no benches to sit down on, nothing to entertain themselves with- just, NOTHING.

As soon as the guards stepped away, that line dissolved into its separate cliques. Even as oblivious as he was, that much was obvious to Naruto. Small, weedy, lowly-looking ninja huddled in the corner, averting their eyes from everybody, trying not to stand out. Those same big guys that had spent so long holding up the line made their way to the other side, and immediately turned to each other, ignoring the rest of the world. Everybody else was in their own little world, doing their best to not cause trouble with the guards or other inmates.

Which left Naruto with a problem.

He had no 'clique', no 'group', so to speak. Hell, the only people he'd spoken to were Kakashi and Iruka, and as he looked around frantically, he realised that they, too, had disappeared.

"Crap."

"Hey, new fish," a voice growled from behind him. Naruto spun around, fist raised, and blinked. The man standing before him was beyond creepy looking, but his voice had been friendly enough. He was tall, slightly hunched over, with wild dark hair, a sickly complexion- hell, his skin was nearly _grey- _and dark eyes that seemed wild, dangerous. He smiled, and Naruto took a step backwards. His teeth were _sharp! _

"You look a little lost, fishy," this new guy said, leering at him, and Naruto felt his hackles rise up. Something about this guy pissed him off. "We all need friends in this place. I could be a friend to you." And he offered Naruto a bar of chocolate.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" he demanded. The man sighed.

"Take it, and you'll be safe. I'm offering my friendship to you, little fish." Naruto was sorely tempted by the chocolate, and this creep knew it. But the blonde boy withdrew his hand, shaking his head.

"Sorry. It looks real good, but I can take care of myself."

The guy's eyes flashed, and he bared his teeth- well, almost like an animal. "You'll regret not taking it," he snarled, and Naruto shrugged.

"I don't need an old man like you telling me what to do," he snapped back, squaring his shoulders- probably something this old asshole couldn't do. "I'll take care of myself, thanks."

The guy growled but backed down. He probably wasn't all that old, but his sickly pallor, combined with his grey clothes, made him look ancient. "The Akatsuki will get you," he rasped, "they'll beat a little runt like you to a pulp, and there'll be nothing you can do about it!"

"I'll take my chances," Naruto retorted, and stormed off. He was short tempered at the best of times, but he knew starting a fight here would likely result in him getting punched by Obito. He had no idea where he was going, but it didn't matter, so long as he away from that creep.

As it turned out, he marched straight into Iruka. "Naruto," he said, sounding relieved, "we didn't know where you had gotten to."

"Don't lie, Iruka," Kakashi said, sounding bored, "we knew exactly what was happening."

"Who the hell WAS that guy?!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air, "He was such a creep!"

"Keep your voice down," the silver-haired man snapped, glaring at the boy. His shouts had drawn a few curious glances, including several from the big group with the blue-skinned guy. "Look, what just happened is totally normal. Happens to every new fish that comes in here."

"But who _was _he?" he demanded in a furious whisper. Naruto didn't like being told what to do by anyone. "He offered me a chocolate bar."

"Is it chocolate bars this time?" Iruka sounded amused. "Back in my day, it was a packet of chips."

Naruto scowled at them both, wordlessly demanding an answer, until at last, Iruka gave in. "Okay, that guy there is Zabuza. He…offers 'friendship' to new fish, in exchange for…well, whatever he wants. That could be anything from doing his washing, picking out the critters in his food- or doing other stuff. And you have to pay him back double time."

"What do you mean?" Naruto whispered, sickened yet curious at the same time.

"Well…if he offers you a chocolate bar, for instance, then you have to give him _two _chocolate bars. Within a time limit. If you can't do it, he'll make your life hell until you can pay him back, or you kill yourself."

"What the fuck!" That was just nasty- low. Something he probably should have expected in a prison, but it surprised him nonetheless. "That bastard!"

"It's part of prison life, kid," Kakashi murmured, "happens everywhere."

"It's still not right," Naruto persisted, voice growing louder unintentionally, "that asshole should be-"

"What, locked up?" Kakashi asked. "He already is. I'm not sure what kind of world you've been living in, but this is _prison, _Naruto. Zabuza is but a fraction of what you should be looking out for."

"Yeah, I'd grow eyes in the back of my head if I were you," Iruka said, almost sadly. "You're new- they'll want to figure you out, and you rejecting Zabuza like that only makes them want to play with you more."

"Who is 'them'?" Naruto demanded. Kakashi sighed.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" When Naruto shook his head, he sighed again, sounding tired. "All right, I suppose I can give you a rundown on our happy, happy housemates." He nodded towards the group of big guys at the other end. "That's the Akatsuki. Or, part of it, anyway. I don't know them very well, thank God, but they're…well, they're like the mobsters here. Piss one of them off, and you've got all of them on your ass. And believe me when I say that you do _not _want one of them sitting on you." He winced at some past memory, and touched his eye gently.

"What do you mean, _part _of them?"

"Well…their leader is in solitary confinement. He's been there from the very start. No-one's ever seen him. But, judging by how much respect the group gives him when he's not around…he must be damn powerful."

"Wow." Solitary confinement from the start. That guy must have done something pretty bad to wind up like that.

"Yeah. Pretty scary stuff. Now, let's see…that group over there, is your typical Akatsuki wannabes. Zabuza is one of them. So is that Suigetsu kid. They suck up to the Akatsuki hoping for some kind of favour in return, or even acknowledgement, but so far, no luck. They're not as dangerous, but still…I wouldn't recommend pissing them off. Over there are your Suna ninjas, they pretty much stick to themselves. Kankuro there is your go-to guy. Kumo nin mingle a bit, but they are a bit punchy if you get on their bad side. Hmm…more fish, you can tell, they always wander by themselves or form a group, not the best idea…and then there's us." As he was nodding towards the 'fish', Naruto saw Zabuza sidle up to Choji, chocolate bar in hand. As they watched, Choji took the chocolate, smiling, and they all groaned. When Zabuza left, his fangs were bared in a devilish grin. The young, feminine-looking boy beside him smiled, somewhat sadly as they rejoined the 'wannabes'.

"Jesus, that kid is dead," someone said beside them, a lanky youth that Naruto couldn't identity. Naruto balled his hands into fists.

"Choji, you moron!" he yelled, not caring who heard him, not even the Akatsuki, who were looking him over, amused. The fat boy ignored him, too preoccupied with gobbling the chocolate down.

Suddenly Iruka and Kakashi bustled Naruto way from the fat boy, chattering about anything else. Naruto went, shouting obscenities, but eventually he went quiet when he realised that he wasn't getting a reaction from Choji, nor from either of the two ninja hauling him away.

It was as though Choji Akimichi was already dead.

Naruto had gotten his first taste of prison, and he didn't like it.

Not at all.

**XxX**

"What do you think, Haku?" Zabuza Momochi peered down at the young boy beside him, who looked more like a girl than a boy. A light voice and long hair didn't help it any.

"I give him a week," Haku said soberly, "at best."

Zabuza grinned. "Heh, that fishy kid…he'll be a tasty snack. God knows there's enough of him to go around." They laughed a bit over that, and then the man murmured, "but that other kid…the one who refused the bait. What do you make of him?"

"I think he's…interesting," Haku said, after a few moments, "We may need to keep an eye on him, Zabuza. He could be a threat."

Zabuza snorted. "Him, a threat? _Please." _ Though he outwardly rejected his student's advice, Zabuza nevertheless made a mental tab to keep an eye on the little blonde fish. Maybe they could use him to their advantage should the need arise. Or punch the shit out of him.

It didn't bother him either way.


	3. Do I Wanna Know?

**Chapter Three: Do I Wanna Know? **

Choji was having a good day. Brilliant, actually. He'd made sure to be a good little fish (he'd learnt that that was the term that all inmates dubbed the newbies- 'fresh fish'), and had effectively became _invisible, _so to speak, and so far, it'd been working pretty well. His cellmate- a creepy-looking guy with silver hair- had pretty much ignored him, he'd gotten fed, and some nice guy had just given him chocolate. It was violet crumble, too- his favourite!

So far, prison wasn't actually that bad. Choji cast his mind back to when the guy had given him the chocolate, smiling a little as he did so.

"_I can be a friend to you," the grey-skinned man had said, and Choji, grateful for the offer of friendship in an evil place like this, eagerly accepted the offered treat. _

"_Gee, thanks!" _

"_No problem," Zabuza had said, giving him a fang-filled grin. He turned to leave. "I'll see you later…friend." _

"Choji, ya moron!" Naruto yelled, before two ninja Choji had never seen before came and dragged him away. The larger boy ignored him. The few times Choji and Naruto had met, they hadn't exactly gotten on marvellously anyway- Naruto tended to crack too many 'fat boy' jokes for Choji's liking.

"What was that about?" Kiba said, coming over and looking over Naruto curiously. Like Choji, he'd effectively become 'invisble' and as such hadn't been beaten to a pulp- yet.

Choji shrugged. "Dunno. But I've got chocolate!" he said, as if that fixed everything- and probably in his world, it did.

"Yeah, I see that," Kiba grumbled.

Choji's face fell. "Oh…did you want some?"

"Nah, it's cool," Kiba yawned, "violet crumble ain't exactly my favourite, anyway. I'm more of a Snickers man. Besides, I wouldn't dare take anything from that creep."

"Your loss," Choji said, and swallowed the last mouthful of the gooey deliciousness. Zabuza and Haku were watching him from afar, heads close together and eyes alert.

"It's not his loss," Haku said softly, "it's yours. Right, Zabuza?"

Zabuza sneered. "Right."

**XxX**

The day was rather uneventful for Choji after that. He hung around with Kiba and another guy called Shino, and by appearing small and useless, they effectively melted into the background of the prison- which was just what they liked. If they became small and insignificant, they were less likely to be beaten up. They moved in a small group, and talked softly, making sure nobody else could overhear them.

"Hey, what're you in for?" Kiba stage-whispered to Shino. The boy with the glasses shoved his hands in his pockets, and for a moment, appeared as if he wasn't going to say anything. Like everybody else, he'd been robbed of his original clothes, but he'd managed to tug his collar up so it obscured the lower half of his face, and had pulled the optional prison hat down tight enough so that his hair was unseen. It was an unusual and disturbing image.

"Murder," he said eventually.

"Really?" Kiba sounded surprised. Shino raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"How did you do it?" Choji asked, awed. Though he was a ninja as well, he'd never killed anybody, and until now, hadn't known anyone who had.

"…my insects crept into their body, and ate them from the inside."

"Nice," Kiba said, impressed.

"Ew." Was Choji's contribution.

Shino nodded. "Yeah." He seemed to not want to say anymore on the subject. Choji groped wildly for a change in subject.

"What'd you do, Kiba?"

Kiba flushed. "Well…Akamaru and I were practicing our fang over fang technique, and, well…we got caught."

Choji laughed at him outright. "Are you serious?! That's so stupid!"

"Hey, shut up!" Kiba hissed, face flushed with embarrassment, "at least I wasn't stuffing my face!"

Choji ignored the jab. "But EVERYBODY knows you don't just practice jutsu in public-"

"Not talking about something illegal, are we boys?" an all-too familiar voice drawled behind them, and all three ninjas paled. While they'd been bickering, they hadn't noticed Obito creeping towards them, listening to their every word. He smirked at them, the cruel smile turning handsome (if somewhat marred) features ugly. "You shits DO realise that mentioning anything related to chakra is banned here, right?" His eyes glittered maliciously.

Choji gulped. His legs had suddenly turned to jelly, and his stomach seemed to have dropped to somewhere near his toes. He felt sick, feverish.

Obito was one crazy motherfucker. He'd been hit by him before, and Choji had deep bruising on his stomach- forget it being purple or yellow, it was BLACK. It ached horribly, and it looked like the fat boy was about to receive some more bruises to add to his growing collection.

Obito was looking at him like he expected him to defend himself, but Choji couldn't speak. It was as if his tongue had suddenly become leathery, hard- he couldn't speak in the face of very real danger. His voice had deserted him.

Kiba's had not, however.

"We weren't talkin' about anythin' illegal," the dog-master said hurriedly, his speech becoming somewhat broken in his fright. He had gone very pale, and it didn't escape any of their notice that he kept rubbing his hands together, as if he was cold. "It might have _seemed _like it-"

"Are you calling me deaf, you little punk?" Obito asked conversationally, yet his eyes were dark and hard, black tunnels that seemed to go on forever. His voice was friendly, but his eyes reflected the anger, a dark, malicious lust for violence. He seemed to _want _to beat them to a pulp. His hand twitched slightly, and they saw that he was wearing gloves.

"I- n-no, sir-"

"You better not be," he said softly, leaning close so that they could smell the coffee on his breath, "because I hear and see _everything. _You can't hide from me. You piss me off, I'll get you, all of you little fuckers. Get the picture?"

Choji was now shaking where he stood. Despite the happiness that had bloomed with his newfound friendship with Zabuza, he felt sick, miserable. A beating seemed inevitable. Shino stood alone, stoic and silent, his expression carefully neutral, although they could all feel the tension radiating from his body. Kiba looked sickly and pale, and his fang tattoos stood in stark contrast against his white skin. He wasn't shaking, not exactly, but he was clearly scared out of his mind. He may be loud and boisterous when around Choji and Shino, but in the face of true authority like Obito, he was terrified.

"Yes, sir," Kiba heard himself say through numb lips. Shino nodded meekly.

Choji's tongue still wasn't working. Obito raised an eyebrow, mouth curling nastily.

"Are you deaf as well as dumb, fat-ass?" he hissed, and promptly sunk a fist into the fat boy's stomach.

"Oof!" Choji felt all the air in his lungs rush out, and suddenly, he couldn't draw another breath. His chest hitched, but nothing came. His eyes widened. Blue lights winked in front of his eyes. He sank to his knees, groaning. He heard people laughing; it was cold, merciless. But he didn't care. He couldn't breathe.

"On your feet, fat-ass," Obito growled, and grabbed at his long brown hair, hauling the boy to his feet. Choji sucked in a great mouthful of air, blew it out, and did it again. "I'm not gonna ask again, tubby- do you understand me?"

Choji looked deep into those eyes and felt sick. He could feel fresh bruises forming already, and wished for the umpteenth time that he was anywhere but here. "Yes, sir," he whispered, shivering.

Obito gave him a humourless smile. "Glad to hear it," he said, and let Choji go. He remained where he was, fearing that the scarred man would hit him again, and wishing that his chakra had not been cut off- he could have squished this asshole with his expansion jutsu, no problem. But having no access to his chakra made that impossible. "I'll see you later, boys," Obito said, and melted back into the crowd.

"Choji! You okay?" Kiba rushed over. His face had gone an awful blotchy colour- now that Obito was gone, he seemed angry and humiliated that he had gone to pieces like that. Well, that made two of them.

"He…hit me…again…" Choji huffed, still clutching his belly. Thank god Obito had avoided any bones- otherwise they'd be broken. People were still laughing. "My stomach…"

"Let me see." Kiba lifted Choji's shirt up, and paused. "I'm not gay or anything," he said quickly, defensively, "I'm just assessing the damage."

"Why would I even think that?" Choji coughed, belly heaving. Kiba flinched, feeling slightly disgusted as he stared at the fat boy's flabby stomach. Sure enough, a fresh bruise was forming, as ugly and black as the others. It was a miracle Obito hadn't ruptured something.

"He's defending his honour," Shino said quietly, his first contribution for awhile.

"How bad is it?" Choji asked timidly, once his breathing had returned to normal.

Both Kiba and Shino spoke at the same time.

"Not bad." That was Kiba, doing his best not to upset Choji more than he already was.

"Disgusting." Shino had no such qualms.

Choji sighed. "I'll look at it myself, then," he said, and peered at his stomach. Try as he might, he couldn't actually see where Obito had hit him over his own flab. "Oh, hell," he said, beginning to cry despite himself, "I can't even see it."

Kiba and Shino could do little more than stare at each other in dismay, as the laughter swelled around them, Obito among them.

**XxX**

"What're you bastards _doing? _Let me go already!" Naruto fought tooth and nail to free himself, but the two ninja kept a firm grip on his forearms, and weren't about to let him go anytime soon. They dragged him a good distance away from Choji, Kiba, and Shino before they let him go. Around him, people began to laugh, horrible, sawing laughter that pissed Naruto off to no end. It was partly derisive, but also filled with a terrible emptiness, a kind of awed horror. The blonde boy looked around him, and indeed, there were some people who genuinely found the whole thing funny, but there were several others who howled with laughter, yet their faces were pale, eyes wide with fright. That was hysterical laughter, the kind of reaction you have instead of bursting into tears when you see something awful.

Naruto rubbed his arms, scowling at the older men. "What the hell was that for, anyway?" he snarled.

"We don't associate with dead people," Kakashi said simply, ignoring the laughter. His face- or, well, what Naruto could see- was deadly serious.

Naruto's temper broke, and he stamped his foot impatiently. "What the hell does that even mean?!" he yelled, drawing a few startled glances, "he's _alive, _I can see him right _there, _now quite telling me that he's dead already! I'm not an idiot!"

Iruka sighed. "New fish," he muttered to Kakashi, and they shared an exasperated glance. "Look, Naruto, you're right; Choji's not dead, but he might as well be. That's what we're saying. It's horrible, it's immoral, but that's part of prison life. It's what we call 'hazing'- it's a social and moral test, for Christ sake. If you don't take Zabuza's chocolate…well, you're on your own, but at least he leaves you alone. If you do take it…it's pretty much a death sentence. If you can't pay him back, he'll give you hell until you repay him, or you kill yourself. Zabuza has eyes and ears everywhere; he's a wannabe, he has connections with the guards, and worse…the Akatsuki. Technically, Choji has failed the test."

"But-" Naruto said furiously, but Iruka held a hand up to stop him.

"I'm not finished," he said calmly, and then continued, "we're not saying Choji will die- hell, people have taken the bait before and lived. I think Juugo took the bait, and he's alive- so is Lee. But what we're saying is that there's a pretty good chance Choji might not live- it doesn't help that he's got an Akatsuki member as a cellmate, either. It's just…easier, I guess, to assume that they're gonna die than worry about them. People have worried themselves to death about others." Here he exchanged a sad glance with Kakashi.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Is that what you two have been doing all this time?" he asked, struggling to keep calm. He didn't like any of this. "Not caring…not giving a damn, just because it's easier to do? To say goodbye to someone who isn't dead yet? To watch people die, right before your eyes? Where's the justice in that? More to the point, _where the fuck are your morals?!" _he said, raising his voice to a scream at that last part. _"Where the fuck are anybody's morals?!" _

"Don't give us a lecture about something you know nothing about!" Kakashi bellowed suddenly, eyes blazing. He glared at the younger man vehemently. "You can't understand what it's like here! You don't understand! So don't you dare give us a big high and mighty speech when you don't have a clue, kid!"

"Kakashi," Iruka murmured, placing a hand on the masked ninja's shoulder, though he too was struggling to keep his temper. "Naruto's new, you can't expect him to-"

"To what? Be okay with watching people die?" Naruto asked, voice trembling in his agitation.

All he received was a glare from Kakashi. "Naruto," Iruka said quietly, "stop. This isn't helping. Just let it go, okay?"

If there was one thing Naruto hated more than overcooked ramen, it was going down without a fight. But he knew when he was about to get punched, and the look on Kakashi's face said plainly that if he didn't shut up, he was going to get punched. If not by the silver-haired ninja, then surely by Obito or somebody else. "Fine," he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Iruka said. Kakashi growled some obscenities at him.

But it wasn't okay. None of this was okay.

**XxX**

"How long, Zabuza?" Haku asked his mentor dutifully, girlish face alight with curiosity. The swordsman grinned, and watched the three fish recover themselves after Obito had dealt with them. The fat one- his new 'friend- was crying silently, clutching his hurting belly. The rest of the wannabes were still chortling over the beating- Suigetsu and Juugo seemed to find it hilarious. They kept sneaking glances over at the Akatsuki, hoping that they'd join in on the laughter, but not one of them cracked a smile, not even the other Hidden Mist native, Kisame.

"Let's give him a week," Zabuza said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. He was feeling generous today, and the kid's beating had put him in a good mood.

"Shall I go and tell him for you, sir?"

"Yeah," Zabuza murmured, watching the little blonde kid start yelling at Iruka and Kakashi, "yeah, you better do that, Haku. Make sure he knows the exact conditions of our…friendship."

"Yes, sir," Haku said, and went to find Choji.

"I don't like his chances," Suigetsu said, having heard the whole conversation. He smiled nastily.

"Nor do I, but that's what makes it fun," Zabuza said gleefully. He began to cackle, and after a moment, Suigetsu and Juugo joined in.

**XxX**

Choji had managed to mop most of his tears away by the time the little girly-man came over. Tears did nothing to help his situation, he told himself sternly, gritting his teeth and doing his best to look impassive as Haku approached. He knew that the little kid (hell, he wasn't really a kid- he was a good two years older than Choji's sixteen years, but his delicate features and long, beautiful hair made him seem much younger) was also…friends…with Zabuza, but that was all Choji knew about the other boy.

He now made his way to Choji, walking swiftly and purposefully. It did not escape Kiba nor Shino's attention that other lowly inmates avoided Haku like the plague.

"Who's this kid?" Kiba wondered. His dark eyes were calculative, probably wondering how fast the kid could move if he tried to lay a hand on any of them. The encounter with Obito had severely damaged Kiba's pride, and part of him- that same part that connected so solidly with Akamaru- longed for a fight. Probably a stupid idea, but Kiba was, by definition, a competitive and aggressive person, and if this she-male decided to start anything, then he'd be ready.

"He's with Zabuza," Choji said, forcing a smile as Haku came closer.

"Zabuza?" Shino asked, his first words for a while.

"The guy who gave me the chocolate," Choji replied. Inwardly, he thought, _Zabuza was nice, so that means this guy is nice too…right? _

"You're Choji Akimichi, right?" the girly-man asked when he reached them, and Kiba had to hide a grin. Hell, this kid not only LOOKED like a girl- he even SOUNDED like a girl! How unfortunate.

"Yeah," Choji replied, taking the other boy's offered hand. It was soft and feminine-looking; not that he should have been surprised by now. He guessed that he took immaculate care of his hands- unusual for a ninja. "Uh, who're you?"

"My name is Haku."

"…Hi?"

Haku did not return the favour. "Master Zabuza gave you a chocolate, didn't he?" he asked, and, seeing Choji's nod, continued, "he was wondering if you could do him a favour. See, that his was last chocolate bar. He only gives them to people he wants to be close to, and it was his last one…do you think you could pay him back?"

"His last one? Sure!" Choji was nonplussed; he clearly had not grasped the severity of the situation, whilst Kiba and Shino stood there, silently freaking out because they _got it. _"What does he need me to do?" To Choji, giving someone their last chocolate bar was a sign of ultimate trust; he actually felt _flattered_.

Haku leaned closer. "He needs another bar to replace the old one, and another one, as a backup. They really mean a lot to him, and this- _you- _would mean a lot to him if you did this. He would be very grateful."

"Sure!" Choji was not by nature an aggressive or mean-spirited person, and he delighted at every opportunity to help somebody else. It was both a blessing and a curse.

"Master Zabuza would really like it if you could get them both in a week," Haku said, and then turned and marched straight back to Zabuza and the others.

"Uh, sure…" Choji's words fell on deaf ears, seeing as Haku wasn't there anymore. He turned to Kiba and Shino, grinning triumphantly. "See? It pays to have a friend in this damned place!"

"Are you sure he's a friend?" Shino murmured, low enough so that nobody but Kiba heard him.

"Wait!" Choji's face had gone pale. "How the – how the HELL am I meant to get two chocolate bars in a week? In THIS place?!"

"Beats me," Kiba said, somewhat lamely.

Choji sighed. This day was getting worse and worse.

**XxX**

Later that day, as they were being marched back into their cells, Kiba caught up to Shino. Their cells were relatively close by, anyway, so they didn't get in trouble. "Is Choji gonna be okay?" Kiba asked urgently. The stocky boy in question had been worrying about the chocolates for the rest of the afternoon.

Shino's reply was cold. "I don't know. He's got a debt to Zabuza now."

"Do I wanna know?" Kiba asked dubiously.

Shino looked at him squarely. "No," he said, "no, I don't think you do."

**XxX**

Alone in his cell, a tall, dark-haired young man with cold eyes leaned against the wall, eyes staring outside his cell, yet not really seeing anything. His long hair was pulled into a loosee ponytail, and he seemed engrossed in his thoughts. Prominent, permanent tear-tracks were on his face.

Something- someone- was coming.

He had to be ready.

**A/N: Apologies for the slow update! Hope you enjoy this new chapter, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! :D **


	4. Trouble

**Chapter Four- Trouble. **

Naruto Uzumaki had spent exactly one full day at blood prison, (not counting the day he had arrived), and already he had a reputation as a loudmouth and an annoyance. Which, at blood prison, wasn't a great reputation to have.

Naruto woke the next morning feeling reasonably well-rested; quite an upgrade from yesterday. He found, that if he slept on his side, and covered his face with his pillow, he was able to both block out the whispers _and _his cell. Well, to an extent, anyway. Kakashi, although still pissed from the argument yesterday, was proving to be quite a good cellmate, not saying or doing much of anything. Naruto caught him reading what appeared to be a dirty book before lights out.

"_What the hell is that?" he'd exclaimed, a little too loudly for Kakashi's liking. _

"_It's called a book," Kakashi had snapped, "and keep your mouth shut about it! I'm allowed to have my vices, aren't I?" _

The book had been titled 'Make-out Paradise'. Naruto wasn't sure if his impressions of Kakashi had improved any, but like he'd said, every man was allowed his vices in this place. The blonde boy now stretched and yawned widely. "Man, I'm starved!"

"Why does that not surprise me?" Kakashi drawled, still engrossed in his dirty book. Naruto wondered if he'd been up all night reading. Judging by how the book looked, dog-eared and the pages yellowing, he guessed that the book had been read many times. _How the hell did he even get his hands on a book like that? _He wondered, and then flushed slightly. It occurred to him that part of him actually wanted to _read _said dirty book.

Shaking off his embarrassment, Naruto stood up and glared at the older man. "Look, I know I pissed you off," he growled, "but quit having a go at me already!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Sure, if that makes you sleep at night, kid."

"You're a jerk," Naruto mumbled half-heartedly, and walked over to his cell door. He stared outside, hands gripping the bars tightly. He didn't know who were his 'neighbours', so to speak, but he could see into the cell across from them. To his surprise, it was Choji, as well as some silver-haired guy who sat slumped in a corner. Choji was sitting on his bed, as far away from his cellmate as he could possibly be. He appeared to be deep in thought; he stared down at his porky hands, a puzzled smile on his face. Undoubtedly he was trying to think of a way to repay Zabuza back- he'd be stupid to be thinking of anything else.

Naruto suddenly felt a wave of sympathy wash over him for the solid boy across from him. Choji always seemed to be getting himself into problems- he had 'eyes too big for his belly', as Iruka had described it. Poor Choji; he was always so eager to help others that he rarely thought of the consequences for himself. And now it seemed that he had gotten himself into a situation where there was no escape. "Damn it," Naruto whispered, and thought, _I wish I could help you, Choji. _He would have said it aloud, but thought better of it. He couldn't help the other boy if he was being beaten to a pulp.

If Kakashi noticed Naruto's change in demeanour when the guards came around to unlock the doors for breakfast, he didn't comment on it. "Come on," he said roughly, and tugged Naruto in line so that he wouldn't get lost; or worse, paired with somebody who wouldn't take kindly to his abrasive attitude.

"Right," Naruto muttered. He felt…weird. Really weird. He felt miserable for Choji, frustated that he couldn't do anything…and nervous. Like, really nervous. That surprised him. He wasn't afraid of any assholes in this place, so he had no reason to be nervous, right?

…Right?

**XxX**

As Choji stood in line, beside Kiba and Shino (he now to think of them as the Three Musketeers, or something along those lines), he was barely aware of the world around him. He was too engrossed in his thoughts.

So. Zabuza wanted two chocolate bars. That in itself didn't sound too difficult- hell, if they weren't in prison, Choji could do it, no problem!- but that singular fact- _prison- _was what made it so hard. People thought they knew prison life- lots of people walking around in black and white- striped jumpsuits, with ball and chains keeping them weighted down- but reality was in fact so different from the social expectation that it frightened Choji to no end. He knew that prison would be bad, but he had no idea of just _how _bad. Even the guards beat the inmates up!

And how the hell was he supposed to get theses chocolate bars? This was prison, not a mall- he couldn't just waltz in and buy two violet crumbles for Zabuza. Hell, as far as he was concerned, there was no way to get them at all! How did Zabuza get them? Was he supposed to talk to someone? Was he supposed to have smuggled some in? That wasn't possible- Obito and his cronies had investigated every inch of the newcomers bodies to check for smuggled objects. One kid had had a shiv confiscated.

"Hey, Choji." It was Kiba. The dog-master's face was engraved with worry for the other boy. He knew, knew much more than he cared to know. For sixteen years, Kiba had convinced himself that ignorance was bliss, and that he'd prefer to stay happy and stupid than knowledgeable and miserable. That wasn't working so well now. He looked tired. "Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine," Choji said distractedly, unconvincingly.

"Ya sure?"

Choji forced a smile. His gut hurt more than ever, but at least his cellmate had left him alone last night. He had heard stories where cellmates harassed- or killed- their new fish. "Yeah. I'm fine, really, Kiba. You look tired, though."

Kiba yawned. "Yeah, ya could say that." He hadn't been harassed, per se, but his cellmate, a short young man with light brown hair that seemed to be nearly grey, with a gigantic scar across his face, had unnerved him. He'd been friendly enough, introducing himself as simply 'Yagura', but he was…kind of creepy. His bright pink eyes had been the icing on the cake, and Kiba had lain awake for what had seemed like hours, worrying that Yagura and his creepy eyes and scar were going to mug him in his sleep.

Yagura hadn't, of course, and was probably a really nice guy. But Kiba was taking no chances. He would sleep with one eye open, if he had to.

"Creepy cellmate?" Choji asked.

"I guess," Kiba admitted, "well, he looks creepy, but I don't think he's all bad, ya know? Still…I ain't trusting anyone that ain't from my village. It's too dangerous."

"Yeah," Choji sighed, "wish I'd thought of that."

"You have a debt to pay now," Shino butted in, voice surprisingly loud for someone usually so quiet, "you know this."

"Yeah, I know, Shino," Choji snapped, and moved ahead slightly to keep up with the line. Someone jostled them from behind. Kiba looked like he was about to snap at the offending ninja, but thought better of it.

They collected their breakfasts silently, each lost in their own train of thought. They sat together, away from most of the large inmates, and ate, subdued.

_Hell, I'm in so much trouble, _Choji thought, as he ate.

**XxX**

"You're awfully quiet today," Kisame Hoshigaki remarked during breakfast. His own bowl (which had been filled with double portions- the Akatsuki knew how to haggle) was empty, whilst his partner's, a young man called Itachi Uchiha, was still full. He was deep in his own thoughts, and at first appeared to not have heard Kisame at all. Only a flicker of his dark eyes towards his partner indicated that he'd heard. "Something botherin' you, Itachi?"

The rest of the men at the table ignored this. They had better things to discuss, and indeed, shuffled over slightly so that the blue-skinned man and his partner could converse with relative privacy. There was no such thing as privacy, but the Akatsuki looked after their own. Leader's orders.

"I'm fine," Itachi murmured, and considered his oatmeal darkly. Though he outwardly appeared as stoic and silent as ever, if mostly apathetic, Kisame could sense a slight tension in the younger man- he was not angry, not exactly, but something had put the Uchiha prodigy on edge.

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "I'm _fine, _Kisame," Itachi hissed, and the conversation died, just like that. The sharklike man knew when to leave things alone, especially with how the Uchiha was glaring at him right now.

He was, of course, fine. But still he had that feeling of inevitable dread within him. He did not have the gift of foresight, but it felt like he did, at that moment. For he knew that someone dangerous was coming.

Soon, he knew, they would be here soon.

**XxX**

It began to rain. It fell in icy buckets; the prisoners milling around in the field soon began to shiver, their jumpsuits sticking to their bodies like a second skin. "Damn it," Naruto cursed to himself, hugging himself desperately, as the heavens continued to piss on him and the others. His clothes, a dirty grey, were now almost black with rain. "Can't they just let us inside already?" he asked Iruka, who seemed to not notice the rain at all.

"They could," he said sadly, "but they won't. Not until it starts hailing or something."

"Or it snows," Kakashi added tiredly.

Naruto stamped his foot in anger, throwing his hands in the air. "Damn it!" he yelled. "This isn't humane! This is _torture!" _

"Hey, shut up!" somebody yelled over the pouring rain.

"Yeah, pipsqueak, shut your trap!" That was somebody else.

"Just keep it to yourself, eh Naruto?" Iruka seemed nervous as he glanced around the field full of shivering and swearing ninja. "I know it sucks, but still! These storms put everyone in a bad mood- you don't want to be on the receiving end of it. You dig?"

"I dig," Naruto muttered, and crouched low to the ground. He wasn't sure why, but he thought it might somehow help his shitty situation. _Quit complaining already, _he growled inwardly, _your situation isn't nearly as bad as Choji's. Pack it in, Naruto!_

Well…he supposed that was true. He didn't have a death sentence on his head- none that he knew about, anyway. Whereas Choji _knew, _he had to _know, _somewhere in that fat head of his, some part of him had to _know _that there was a countdown on his life, the final countdown, maybe. _3, 2, 1…you're dead!_ He thought wildly, and had to smother a hysterical laugh. What the hell was happening to him? The crazy atmosphere of the prison was getting to him already. It was only his second full day here!

All he wanted to do- well, apart from not be in this damned place- was help Choji. The poor bastard was wandering around with Shino and Kiba, eyes wide with fright, mind ticking over frantically. Naruto could practically hear the cogs whirring in Choji's brain, grasping for an idea.

_Damn it…what can I do to help? _

Wasn't there somebody- ANYBODY- who could help? Or were they all like Kakashi- cold, apathetic, willing to just sit and watch people die? Angry now, Naruto spat bitterly on the ground, pointedly ignoring the disgusted glance he got from Kakashi.

He hated this prison thing so, so much.

He wasn't given long to brood over it all, as the guards began screaming for them to all get inside. These demands were met with sighs of relief from the other ninja, and they all rushed to get inside, pushing and shoving. Evidently warden Shimura had decided that they had suffered long enough in the rain, and wanted them inside. Obtito looked outraged, eyes blazing with fury, but said nothing as Naruto and the others eased past him, into the welcome dryness of the inside hall.

"Keep moving," Obito snarled at a few stragglers; which included Choji and Kiba, Naruto saw. "Don't make me hit you again, lard-ass."

"Yes, sir," came the sullen reply. Obito grinned.

"That's a good lad."

They were moving towards a larger room, one that Iruka hurriedly whispered to Naruto as the 'recreation room'. "They don't let us use it much," he muttered, as they all shuffled into the room, which was actually quite large. It appeared that much larger because of how little was actually _in _the room. There was a tv- not on a desk but actually _welded _into the wall- a wall that was as grey and boring as the rest of the prison. They'd probably put the tv into the wall following an attempt to pitch it through somebody's head or something.

There was a thin scattering of lounges near said tv, and the Akatsuki fell upon these like rats to cheese. There was a box of old, ratty magazines, and several damaged folding-chairs near the box. There were several packets of cards, and that was it. There was essentially nothing in this room that could be used as a weapon- the lounges were bolted to the floor (and no ninja- not even a big guy- could lift those lounges without the aid of chakra, and with no chakra available…), and the folding-chairs looked like they'd break if swung at someone.

The entire room had been transformed into…well, a sort of _playroom _of sorts. Naruto could only stare around in dumb wonder as everyone else began to occupy themselves with either television, cards or magazines. "This is _it? _What a dump!"

"Ssh, Naruto!" Iruka glanced around quickly to see whether Obito had heard them or not. He hadn't. He turned to the blonde boy. "Remember what I said about the recreation room not getting used very often? Well, this is why- there's nothing here. People get bored. And when dangerous criminals get bored, fights begin to break out."

"So why did he put us in here, then?" Naruto demanded.

Iruka looked genuinely puzzled. "I…I don't know. The warden must have been really worried about something to make us go in here."

"That, or something else," Kakashi murmured darkly.

"Well, that's weird." Naruto had an uncanny habit of stating the obvious. It pissed off Kakashi to no end.

"No shit," the silver-haired ninja grumbled, and promptly sat down on the floor, near the box of magazines. The ninja that had already claimed the spot eyed him suspiciously, and then promptly resumed their muttered conversation, ignoring the masked ninja completely. That seemed to suit him just fine, and he motioned for Iruka and Naruto to do the same. They did.

The ninja that sat with them were unrecognisable. They pawed through the magazines, pointing gleefully at big-breasted women, muttering to each other excitedly, while Kakashi and Iruka had what looked like sports magazines open in their lap, turning a page only when Obito or one of his cronies marched past. They weren't reading them at all, but watched the room around them with wary eyes. Everyone was pretending to do menial things, but in reality were watching each other like hawks, the Akatsuki and the wannabes in particular.

Naruto swallowed nervously. This was what Iruka had been talking about- the bad mood. It was like a cloud of poison, rising up into the air and infecting everyone with uneasiness, anger. Even as Naruto watched, people snapped at each other, jabbed fingers into chests and stamped feet impatiently.

Yet the guards didn't notice the increasing tension, the near-fights that were threatening to break out. Their attention was fixated on something outside, something that had captured them entirely- even Obito had stopped snarling at people for once.

Once again, Naruto got that feeling of dread. It writhed and sparked within him; it was not unlike how the demon fox often made him feel before it would try and break out of him. Yet he knew this wasn't the fox- it still lay dormant within Naruto, seemingly frozen in a hunk of ice. This was something else.

Something- or, more specifically- _someone _was coming.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, feeling the worry and dread intermingling within him, as all the guards suddenly straightened, and drew their guns.

Yes, something was here.

_Trouble _was here, in more ways than one.

**XxX**

While the guards were distracted by something outside, Choji decided he might take the opportunity to move out of the corner he and his two friends had been forced into, and actually try and do something, like play cards or grab a magazine. He'd only been here for two days, and already he was missing the outside world. To him, a deck of cards or a magazine were remnants of an old world, a world that he could never return to. To do something that most people took for granted…he imagined it would be like putting on a pair of old socks, something familiar and comfortable.

And, he reasoned, he needed all the small comforts in the world at the moment. Especially with his predicament of collecting Zabuza's chocolates.

"I'm gonna go grab something to do," he whispered to Kiba and Shino, who had hunkered down in the corner with him, and seemed immensely interested in watching those around them. Kiba turned his startled gaze to him.

"Aw, Choji, ya don't need to do that," he said, a little too loudly for their liking, earning a glare from Shino. "Stay here."

"I'm _bored," _Choji snapped, "what do you expect me to do? Stay here and do nothing?"

"Well, yeah."

"You'll be safe if you do that," Shino pointed out, pushing his glasses further up his nose. On anyone else, they would have looked ridiculous, but not on him. He wore them spectacularly, and somehow still managed to look menacing and mysterious all at once in his prison uniform.

"But I'm _bored!" _Choji stood up. He was full of nervous energy. He had to do something- _anything. _He'd go mad if he didn't. "Look, nothing's gonna happen. The cards are just over there, see?" And he began walking towards them, albeit a bit angrily.

Shino sighed. "He's going to get himself killed."

"Yeah, I know," Kiba growled. He clenched his fists. "Damn it! I'm not doing a good job at protecting him!"

That comment was aimed more at himself than to Shino, and the dog-master was startled when he got a reply. Shino tugged his glasses down, so that Kiba could see his eyes clearly. They were a deep brown, and were less menacing than he had expected. They were vibrant, full of life; quite unlike how Shino presented himself outwardly. "You're doing fine," he said softly, "but in the end, Choji makes his own choices. He's gotten himself in trouble, and only he can get out of it."

Kiba blinked.

**XxX**

Choji made it to the deck of cards just fine. It was the getting back to his friends bit that was shitty. He bent, ignoring the deep ache in his gut, and picked up the deck of cards that was lying there on the floor. (If he had been anybody else, he would- SHOULD HAVE- found that highly suspicious). "All right!" he murmured, and turned to go back to his friends.

If he was being careful like any sensible ninja would have been, he would have seen the foot sticking out in front of him a mile away. As it was, he didn't see it, and promptly went sprawling, cards flying everywhere.

"Oof!" he cried. People sniggered. He'd landed heavily on his stomach, and it was throbbing badly. He got up- slowly- and was kicked in the left buttock. He went down again.

"Ow!" he landed on his face that time.

The laughter swelled, and a few guards looked round curiously, saw Choji on the floor, and ignored him. Choji gritted his teeth. He wouldn't cry, not here, not in front of everybody.

"Choji!" Kiba leapt to his feet, but a pair of arms grabbed him, and held him down, fast. "What the fuck…?" he mumbled, under the impression that it was Shino, but the mysterious boy was also being held captive.

The person who had such a firm grip on Kiba was insanely tall, with spiky orange hair and wild eyes that glared at him angrily. "Stay here," he muttered quietly. His grip was firm, yet it wasn't hurting him. Not physically, at least. Kiba's pride was somewhat damaged.

"What're you _doing? _Let me go to my friend," Kiba hissed. The whole affair had gone so quietly that the brief scuffle with Kiba and Shino had gone mostly unnoticed. Everybody's attention was on the fat boy with a countdown on his head, who kept trying to get up, and was constantly pushed down. The person doing the kicking was a boy with blue-white hair, purple eyes, and had teeth that were filed to fangs. He looked somewhat like Zabuza, but obviously younger and less…creepy looking.

"I can't," Juugo whispered, looking somewhat pained, "Zabuza's orders. If your friend survives, then I'll never bother you again. Okay?"

Kiba snarled but kept his retort to himself. "Fine, but you're a piece of shit for doing this."

Juugo smiled sadly. "Yes, we are, aren't we? But it's the only way to survive in this place."

"This is all about the chocolate?" Kiba growled, "a little extreme, isn't it?"

The orange-haired boy shrugged his huge shoulders. "Maybe. Who am I to question it, though?"

Meanwhile, Choji was struggling to retain his dignity, as Suigetsu pushed him over, again and again. Damn it, if only he had his chakra! He could squish this little punk like the bug he really was!

"All right, fat-ss? Need a hand?" Now the punk was offering him a hand in apparent sympathy. He grinned, a mouth full of sharklike fangs. "Sorry. I have spasms. Can't help it."

"Sure you do," Choji snarled, and pushed Suigetsu over. Clearly the boy hadn't been expecting it, because he felt spectacularly on his arse. Now all the ninja _were _laughing, Akatsuki included. Kisame openly guffawed, whilst a short, blonde-haired man covered his mouth to hide a grin. Naruto bellowed laughter, unable to help himself, and Kakashi even allowed himself a smirk.

"Looks like your friend isn't a complete failure after all," he said. Naruto couldn't help grinning from ear to ear.

"That's my Choji."

"What in blazes is goin' on in here?!" Obito shrieked. Just like that, the laughter died. Choji promptly scrambled away from Suigetsu, back to his friends, where Juugo was standing dumbly, shocked. Clearly he hadn't expected Suigetsu to fall over. "I can't hear myself _think! _You little faggots shut the fuck up, or I'll put you all in the infirmary!"

They shut up. Still, that dark, uneasy knot of dread lay within them, churning and writhing.

Trouble- it was _here. _

**XxX**

Outside, the sound of a motor could barely be heard over the roar of the pouring rain. Only the guards, on top of the watch towers, saw it, and notified those guarding the inmates via a phone. The prison bus, slow as it was, was even slower in the constant onslaught of rain. The headlights were a dying beacon against said rain, and the guards awaiting its' arrival kept their guns at the ready.

Captain Obito left the recreation room at precisely 2:15 PM, with an entourage of six more guards, and met the bus at the front steps of blood prison. His marred face, normally twisted into an unattractive smirk, was perfectly smooth, apathetic. Undoubtedly he had worked on that for quite some time.

"Prepare yourselves," he said quietly to the guards around him, bringing out a small pistol he kept in an inside pocket of his black slicker.

The bus shuddered to a stop, and the doors swung open. The driver, a tired, grizzled old man, got out first, nodded solemnly at Obito, and then stood aside for the new prisoner to exit the bus.

He moved slowly- not because he was old, or injured- he was in fact quite the opposite- but because he was clad in so many chains that it was amazing that he could move at all. He was young, around the same age as Naruto, with shaggy black hair that hung over his eyes- eyes that glared with immense hatred. He was fair-skinned, and looked almost sickly, despite his handsome features.

Obito's mask faltered at the sight of the boy. Without him even realising it, his mouth curled into a sneer.

The boy glared at Obito, and his lips twisted, to form a snarky grin that was unlike anything that Obito had seen before. There was hatred there, as well as some madness, all right. Behind that handsome face was something dark, twisted.

They stared at each other levelly for a few moments, before Obito gestured to the guards beside them. "Take him to his cell- an _empty _one!" he snarled, and the kid had time to smirk once more, before he was whisked away.

Obito holstered his pistol, slightly disturbed.

"You okay, boss?" one of his teammates asked.

"I'm fine," Obito snapped, staring down at his hands. They couldn't see, but his eyes were wide, and his mouth was twisted into a grimace. Like hell he was. He knew that kid, knew his history quite well.

There was a reason why he had been so heavily clad in chains, why he would receive double the dosage of the sedative than anybody else, save for a few…choice…prisoners.

That trouble that had just walked in, his name was Sasuke Uchiha.

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter! I know it's slow to start, but I hope you guys like it anyway :D **


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